Perkins Student's Tribute to His Friend Honored at Film Festival

Last year, when Daniel Dintzner got a chance to make a movie in his film-making class at Perkins School for the Blind he knew instantly what the subject of the movie would be — his friend Jesse Isabelle.

Six years ago, Dintzner arrived at Perkins at age 14. It was his first time living away from his home in Agawam, but his friend Jesse helped make the transition easier.

“I met Jesse the first year I came here and we became the best of friends,” Dintzner said. “At the end of the year, unfortunately he passed away.”

The film class Dintzner took was taught by “Friends” producer Kevin Bright. The video they created — "Dedicated to Jesse Isabelle" — took second place at the Cinema Touching Disability Film Festival in Austin, Texas, in October. It also won the “Audience Favorite” award.

“Kevin told me he put it in. I knew it had a chance, and then I found out the video had won,” Dintzner said. “It was kind of nice that other people liked it.”

One of the things that the two teens bonded over was the Red Sox.

“Before I met him I never watched baseball, he taught me all the rules of baseball, the different people on the Red Sox, and his favorite players,” Dintzner said.

When Dintzner worked with Bright, he got to tell him how he wanted the video to look and who should be interviewed.

“I told him how the film would go and helped choose what pictures to use and what music to use,” Dintzner said.

Dintzner was not able to go to the film festival in Texas, but he received a certificate and $250 for winning the video contest. He is glad that people could learn more about Isabelle.

“It’s like a tribute to his memory. People can learn about his memory and how much he meant to me,” Dintzner said.

“He was a really good friend. It was just very difficult when I lost him.”